more than meets the eye

Late Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday, Blaine, Cricket and I took cover in our downstairs bedroom as 110 mph winds swirled around us, rattling the windows and howling down the streets. We listened to radio reports of transformers exploding all across Houston, showering the streets with bluish green sparks and leaving 95% of our city in total darkness. The cable went out around 11:00, never to return. Our lights flickered, but they always came back on. We christened our transformer Optimus Prime. There were acts of heroism (Blaine prevented the palm tree in our neighbor's yard from falling on us simply by staring it down for two full hours as Cricket and I napped on the bed) and acts of treachery (if it's brown, you FLUSH IT DOWN!) as the human condition was ripped from its protective wrapping and exposed for all to see. It's Wednesday now and we still have power (and a large dose of survivor guilt); everyone else we know is without. The best part of this hurricane is that we've gotten to spend time with our friends and family, even if they are just coming over to sit in the A/C and charge their cell phones. My parents have been staying with us since Saturday. When my father arrived, he came bearing a Cuisinart and his own canister of King Arthur flour. We ate an apple galette and flaunted our ability to use appliances. There are lines for everything: lines to get into Kroger, lines to get gas, lines to get into the nail salon (what?) I'll post some photos that we took in our hood. Thanks for checking in with us, we're going to be okay.